220mph in the Pagani Huayra prototype

It’s never done a high-speed test run, but it’s about to take its first shot at hyperspeed…

The acceleration is preposterous - a kerbweight of 1,350kg, over half a ton less than a Veyron, and a twin-turbo V12 churning out 750bhp will do that - but the Huayra's power never seems in danger of overwhelming its rear tyres. That's partly because they're 355-section monsters, but also because the Huayra doles out its power with astonishing linearity. Company boss Horacio Pagani was adamant the AMG-built engine shouldn't simply chase huge horsepower figures with a couple of pumpkin-sized turbos and to hell with the drivability, so commissioned a team of 65 AMG employees to work flat-out on the 6.0 V12, ensuring its responses matched those of a naturally aspirated engine. So far as we can ascertain, they nailed it.